Words direct from the mind of Severed Head's guitarist about music, technology and gaming.

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Monthly Archives: June 2014

That’s enough Simon and Garfunkel I think, on with the waffle! Today is certainly going to be a waffle waffle and general following of a thought process. But Mr. Justice, surely you have not a thought process? You just blurt out whatever words are in your mind!! Well brave reader this is broadly true but sometimes the “big ones” do have a proper thought process and reasoning and this is one of those times.

So what be the catalyst? I have a few close friends and these few friends get both the best and worst of me. They also get the whole “whatever is in ma brains!” the most. So a little more context first, my father has bought himself a PRS S2 Custom 24 in Oh-Gods-It’s-Pretty Red and it’s currently living with my PRS’ so I have my own Custom 24 and my SE Custom 24 7-string all in one place which is… Yummy frankly. I said as much and the response elicited from my friend was:

‘Maybe if you got as excited about women as you do about your guitar you’d have more luck’

And my reply:

‘Maybe if more women were as exciting as my PRS I would’

This was my immediate response, naturally. But ultimately truthful and this got me thinking about why I have such a great love for my beautiful PRS. It’s surely just a plank of wood and metal, right?

Most people who know me know I am a deeply personal fellow who -if you are unfortunate enough to! – end up being close to me will become incredibly important to me and as such will be cared about very much. There is very little I wouldn’t do for these few people, I would –and have- bleed for them if it meant they can be happy. I have suffered greatly at some of their hands and I am not going to pretend that I have not made some of them suffer. Neither parties (I hope!) were going for being malicious but if you let someone in you risk hurting them and risk yourself being hurt. However, unless loyalty or –lets sound sappy here!- love is in question things can and will be repaired and the friendship will remain as strong, usually somewhat stronger, as before.

But what’s this got to do with my PRS? Well, because I have such a strong emotional and personal connection to the people that matter this response equates to the most important things in my life. And as any musician will know an instrument can transcend the thing and become more than this.

When I first played my love she just suited me. It felt special, she was beautiful and sounded beautiful and just sat in my arms perfectly. I played another PRS, same guitar but in black and someone looked at what would become mine. I immediately stopped playing the black one, which was good but didn’t have that spark, and picked up my PRS again. I was not going to let someone else play her. I would not have been able to walk away with her if it wasn’t for my ex and fast forward a very happy (if very poor!) year of PRS ownership and my lady breaking off our engagement and then my little sister passing away I was in a world of absolute pain and sadness. I had many, many dark thoughts during this time. I got very close to destruction and I felt entirely alone because I needed to be strong for my family, they needed me and so I was strong. However with losing the two people who meant the most to me in the world I felt alone.

But she was waiting for me, patiently for be what I needed. I sat with my PRS and just played. Letting me take the pain and emotion and channelling it through my fingers into music. For every painful note I played she shared in this and she cried with me. She was strong and unfaltering when I needed her and I worked through as much as I could.

I like to think I have bought out the best in her over the years. We’ve shared a hell of a lot of good and bad times. While I have asked a lot of her she asks a lot of me. In order for her to be at her best I need to be at my best. A proper relationship should surpass the limits of what both are capable of and become a single entity far beyond what should be capable. This is what happens with my PRS, I don’t think anyone who has seen me play a live show can deny that we bring out the best in each other and transcend a guitar and its player.

Now I bring this kind of thing to any relationship (be it intimate or friendship!) because I firmly believe in people and especially those I believe in and care for. Most abuse or misuse or throw this away. They’ll accept my side but give little back and so I have become a much more guarded and less freely giving with my trust. Even this still bites me sometimes but ultimately I have my PRS who doesn’t want me to be anything other than me. She’ll accept me at my happiest or saddest, my best or worst and if I am at my worst she gives me her best to aspire to and because of this I give my best because that is what she deserves. I am fortunate that my PRS is not the alone with this, I have been lucky enough to have at least one human who is the same.

Does this answer the question I bought here? Well, kinda! I love my closest friends and my PRS and I still have a lot of love to give!

I’d wrap this up nicely and have a proper conclusion but frankly I’m off to play my PRS! Safe travels, friends!

(Below is a picture of the two of us, with our heads blurred to protect anonymity)